The online bingo market may have been struggling in recent years, but Playtech's investment in its bingo offering has helped create an ecosystem which is a key part of the Playtech ONE omni-channel offering.

The integration with retail bingo supplier ECM and acquisition of games studio EyeCon have helped in this regard, but Playtech’s Virtue Fusion network also delivered a number of major software developments during the past year, including seven exclusive games for some of the leading operators, such as Gala, Sky, William Hill and Rank Group.

Playtech has also begun repurposing its most popular bingo games for the retail sector, including Clover Rollover. Another game, Tiki Paradise, was designed with Playtech's omni-channel approach in mind and includes cross-channel features across the ECM estate.

Playtech continues to see bingo as a key acquisition channel for operators that cross-sell into casino, which just happens to be Playtech's core strength. One of the benefits of its recent Eyecon acquisition will be the roll out of the hit slot Fluffy Favorites for retail, with a hybrid Fluffy Bingo game also in development.

The bingo supplier category remains a competitive area, but Playtech deserves its award after a year of significant development and cross-channel innovation.